Flavor-coated dry snack products, such as potato chips, tortilla chips, and the like, have traditionally used a combination of oil and dry seasoning as a flavor delivery system. The oil is primarily used to provide adhesion of the seasoning to the snack substrate. In its absence, the dry seasoning would generally fall off. The oil can come from residual frying oil from prior cooking of the snack substrate (e.g., the oil on the surface of potato chips), or it may be blended with the seasoning to form a colloidal suspension (slurry), which is then sprayed onto the product. Alternatively, the seasoning may be applied after the snack substrate is coated with oil, in a device such as a tumble coating drum. Coating systems that may be used to carry out these coating procedures are available from Spray Dynamics (St. Clair, Minn.) and Allen Systems (Newberg, Oreg.).
Snack products manufactured by the above methods are acceptable overall in terms of flavor, but they lack the “fresh” and eclectic texture and individual component flavor-release attributes of an appetizer with toppings. Most topped appetizers are assembled fresh, utilizing high moisture topical ingredients such as cheese, sour cream, fried sausage or pepperoni, and the like. While providing an initially acceptable textural dichotomy—dry crispy grain-based substrate with soft toppings—with time the moisture migrates from the toppings into the cereal substrate. This manifests itself initially as a softening of the substrate, followed subsequently by staling as moisture is lost to the atmosphere. Microbial growth in the toppings also renders these products of short shelf life (typically, less than a day). They are also not well suited for “in the bag” delivery—as is desirable for shelf stable dry snacks—inasmuch as there is no adhesion mechanism employed to keep them bound to the substrate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,112,125 discloses a semi-moist, semi-soft, shelf-stable and non-bleeding particle for carrying a food flavor. The compositions from which the particles are made comprise 5–30% protein, 5–70% gelatinized starch, 5–40% vegetable fat, and at least one of 5–50% dextrose and 5–50% sucrose. The moisture content ranges from 2–30%. The patent teaches that the particles are useful in various conventional food compositions, such as dry muffin and cake mixes. However, the presence of starch in these products would prevent a product such as a cheese shred from melting and adhering to a snack substrate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,748,041 discloses an edible, lipid-based squeezable, flavored savory shelf-stable composition designed to be shelf-stored in a deformable plastic bottle. The composition contains lipid, emulsifier, and bulking agent, and has a paste consistency or stand-up similar to that of a cheese dip. The product is not a true gel structure but instead is a squeezable liquid. During its shelf life, such a product would not stay bound in the regions to which it was applied in the manufacturing process.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,935,634 discloses shelf-stable cheese products with low water activity. The compositions are said not to require refrigeration and not to support the proliferation of microorganisms. The compositions described in the patent contain natural cheese, lactose, and humectants. The humectants may include lactates and polyols. At 40–70% natural cheese, these products carry too much water (>15%) to meet the low water activity standard (Aw<0.60) of the present invention. It is noted, for instance, that Example 13 in the patent discloses a water activity of 0.826.
Combining the shelf stability of a flavor-coated dry snack product with the premium textural and flavor-release perception of an hors d'oeuvre has long been an elusive goal of snack producers.